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Monday, April 18, 2011

No, No, No...Three Drain Pours In A Row

I was cleaning a closet yesterday and found three old double IPAs high on a shelf. Tucked behind some boxes were Ballast Point's Dorado, AleSmith's Summer YuleSmith and Avery's Maharaja. I must have bought these three beers in 2006 or 2007, put them in the closet to keep for a later date and forgot about them. After finding the old double IPAs, I put all three in the fridge so that I could taste them cold in the evening. I was expecting that all three had gone bad, and I was right. All three had that sharp, nasty, old, IPA taste, plus the alcohol in these already big beers was magnified. Booze and stale hops made all three undrinkable and I poured them down the drain after verifying their state of decay. It was unfortunate, but necessary.

At one point I thought hoppy beers would age better than less robust beers, which is probably why I put them in the closet in the first place. Weren't hops the natural preservative that gave IPAs their name, by allowing beer to be shipped for the long journey from England to India without spoiling? I believe there is more myth than fact to that story. The beer that arrived in India must have been unique, to say the least. I am beginning to better understand British reserve and their "stiff upper lips." Now I know that the fresher a hoppy beer the better. No more aging hop bombs for me.

I also found a bottle of Stone's famous Tenth Anniversary double IPA. I didn't open it, but reckon it's gone bad, too. This beer lost all its initial hop aroma and taste, which gave it it's deserved reputation, within six months of release, so I can only guess what it's like after five years.